Retirement

From the time you retire, you will receive a retirement pension and/or a lump-sum payment. You can take voluntary retirement after your 60th birthday (or with some pension plans, after your 58th). If your employer agrees, you can stay in employment after you turn 65, and remain an active member of your pension plan until your 70th birthday at the latest. The contributions that you and your employer continue to pay after you turn 65 also further increase your pension. You can take partial retirement by reducing your working hours in a number of stages.

The annual retirement pension is calculated as follows: RA x CR = RP
RA = Retirement assets at the time of retirement
CR = Conversion rate for the retirement age
RP = Retirement pension per year

The conversion rate is calculated to the nearest month.
 

Instead of receiving a monthly retirement pension, you can opt to withdraw all or part of your assets as a lump sum. You must request this from PUBLICA in writing no later than three months before you retire. If you miss this deadline, you will have to pay the administrative costs as set out in the cost regulations. You can find the form in the fact sheet «Lump-sum payment of retirement benefits, including application».

If you are married, you must obtain your spouse’s written consent with a certified signature. 

Buy-ins made during the three years prior to retirement cannot be withdrawn as a lump sum. If you claim a lump-sum payment before the three-year period has expired, you should also bear in mind that the buy-in concerned is no longer tax-deductible.

If you retire before the statutory pension age of 65 for men or 64 for women, you can apply for a bridging pension. This will be paid until you reach the statutory OASI retirement age. You can request either the entire maximum OASI pension or half of it, weighted by the average working hours reported by your employer. The employment legislation specifies how funding for the bridging pension is to be divided up between the employer and the active member. You can finance your share in the following ways:

• by means of a permanent reduction in your retirement pension that begins immediately, or
• by means of a permanent reduction in your retirement pension that begins when you reach statutory retirement age, or
• by buying out the reduction in the retirement pension before you retire.
   

OASI 21 reform

Das ordentliche Pensionsalter der Frauen (Referenzalter) wird aufgrund der AHV-21-Reform ab dem Jahrgang 1961 wie folgt angepasst:

With immediate effect, funding for the new bridging pensions will be aligned with the new reference age applicable from 1 January 2024.